Sept. 1, 2000

Box Score

On Friday, September 1st, in the first match of the 2000 Wildcat Classic at Jake Nevin Field House, Villanova volleyball defeated a feisty Rider University team by the score of 15-3, 15-3, and 15-8. The victory puts the Wildcats at 1-0 on the season and drops the Broncs to 0-1 on the year.

In game one Villanova lead 4-2 early as they battled a feisty Bronc team. The Wildcats were not stymied by the Bronc attack. Instead, Villanova pounded out 7 of the next 8 points.

Game two saw Villanova take a commanding 5-1 lead, before Rider head coach Emily Ahlquist called a timeout. Ahlquist's timeout did not help the Broncs as Villanova powered past Rider allowing the Broncs to score only two more points.

The Broncs were a tougher foe in the third game as they fought to a 7-7 tie. Unfortunately for Rider, Villanova's senior leadership stepped to the forefront and powered Villanova to the 3-0 victory.

The Wildcats were lead by seniors Breen Eddinger (Tacoma, WA/Bellarmine Prep) and Ruth Ann Blankenheim (Lighthouse Point, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons). The twosome tallied 13 and 12 kills respectively.

The standout on the day was not a senior, but a freshman. In her first collegiate game ever, Jennifer Edwards (Valencia, Calif./Valencia) recorded 33 assists, 4 digs, and 1 ace.

In the second game of the evening, American University defeated the University of Akron 15-11, 15-7, 16-14. American was led by Ajola Berisha , 16 kills, Maria Zhuravleva, 15 kills, and Silvia Panak, 42 assists. For Akron, Ashlie Case recorded 20 kills and Julie McDivitt added 46 assists.

Villanova will be in action tomorrow as they square off against American at 10:00 AM and then Akron at 2:00 PM. Rounding out the afternoon's games are Akron vs. Rider at 12:00 PM and American vs. Rider at 4:30 PM.